Chris Moyles tipped to be replaced as Radio 1 breakfast host

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Chris Moyles, the BBC Radio 1 DJ who has been criticised for anti-gay remarks, may leave his breakfast show next year.

According to the Daily Mail, the BBC has already approached TV presenter Vernon Kay to take over the spot.

Moyles, who was voted Stonewall’s Bigot of the Year in 2006, has seen his ratings fall recently, as it was revealed last week he had lost 700,000 listeners in the last three months. He currently has just over seven million listeners.

His £494,000-a-year contract is due to end in seven months.

A senior BBC source told the newspaper: “Moyles is still the saviour of Radio 1, but he will go sooner rather than later.

“But it works both ways, he only signed a one-year extension deal as he didn’t want to be tied down, he wanted the freedom to move on.”

The presenter was censured by Ofcom earlier this year for comments he made about gay singer Will Young. In 2006, he was voted Stonewall’s Bigot of the Year after he refused to apologise for describing a ring tone that he didn’t like as “gay.”

He has also gotten into hot water for jokes about Auschwitz, Polish women and binge drinking. In 2006, he was censured by Ofcom for calling women “dirty whores” and swearing.

Moyles was warned to obey broadcasting rules or lose his job by BBC Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt in March.

He recently criticised lengthy bureaucracy in the BBC and said it was impossible to keep everyone happy.

He told Radio Times: “The BBC is in a very weird state where they just don’t want to upset anybody.

“Everything now needs to be signed, sealed and approved 18 times.

“We’re not trying to change the world, but because radio is so dull, so boring and so formulaic, and anyone different – me or Jonathan [Ross] – stands out.

“So the BBC is throwing down rules and regulations on you and then the newspapers are saying certain things and you’re just trying to juggle everything while keeping everyone happy at the same time.

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